your smile
by djchika
Summary: "Her nemesis was standing in front of her desk, beaming at her with such enthusiasm that Lena wondered if there was anything Kara didn't do wholeheartedly."


Lena Luthor was used to getting everything she wanted.

She was a Luthor after all and 'No' was a word rarely used around the Luthors. It was used even less around the brunette who had learned that the patented Luthor glare was at times trumped by a simple, open smile.

She never expected that a smile would be the same reason she was slowly being coerced into a reluctant yes.

Her nemesis was standing in front of her desk, beaming at her with such enthusiasm that Lena wondered if there was anything Kara didn't do wholeheartedly.

"Come on, Lena. You have to come with us. I can't believe you've never been to one," Kara said. The bright smile on her face seeming to increase in wattage as she rattled off the many benefits of going to the Carnival. "There's going to be popcorn and cotton candy and ice cream you can get in cones made of actual waffles."

Kara stressed the last item with an excited bounce. Lena had to ignore a very sappy thought that included her chest feeling like ice cream melting on a warm waffle. She might not have the blood of a Luthor but she was raised to be one, and Luthors did not develop crushes on bubbly, reporters. Especially not one her mother despised.

Crush. Her inner Luthor scoffed. Women her age didn't have crushes. It was an infatuation if anything.

"Oh and this year they have this huge ferris wheel," Kara added her hands flying to show just how tall the ride would be. "Much bigger than the last one they had."

Lena nodded, masking the fact that she was even less enthusiastic about Ferris Wheels than she was about flying. Airplanes at least had safety standards. She doubted there was an engineer who ensured the safety of giant rotating wheels that was haphazardly put together during every carnival.

"I would love to," Lena lied instead. There was nothing and no one from this earth that could make her get on that contraption. "But I have an early meeting and I'm going to need a pull an all nighter as it is."

Kara gave her a knowing look. "Ms. Luthor, I have two confirmed sources that say that isn't true. Well one," she admitted, "Jess was telling me that she was grateful you had a light day tomorrow cause her son had the flu and she hadn't been getting much sleep."

If she was her mother Lena would have fired Jess for sharing her private schedule with a reporter, but instead Lena made a mental note to tell Jess she can take the day off.

She opened her mouth to make more excuses but Kara was unwavering. "Are you really going to keep lying to a member of the free press?" she teased, blue eyes twinkling.

Lena laughed, lowering the lid on her laptop and tapping her fingernail against it. "You're not going to give up are you?"

There it was again. Kara's smile was radiant, its warmth melting Lena's resolve. Not completely but enough that she had to look away in the pretense of fixing the papers on her desk.

"If there's one thing I learned from Ms. Grant, it's that if you believe in your cause you don't take no for an answer."

"She did, did she?" Lena asked surprised that Kat Grant would have any sort of conditions to making people do her bidding.

"I might have added to it," Kara admitted just slightly sheepish. "Ms. Grant doesn't really take no for an answer. Look, I'm not going to push if you really don't want to go but one last sales push."

Lena made a gesture for her to proceed, amused at Kara's persistence. It was the same type of persistence that Lena admired in her as a reporter. That and the seemingly endless capacity for empathy Kara possessed.

"Winn and I are planning to eat enough cotton candy to make us almost sick before riding the roller coaster. It's going to be disgusting and definitely something you'd want to witness."

It did not sound like anything Lena wanted to witness but the proud, excited look on Kara's face was too much to resist.

"If you promise not to let me eat anything that's made purely of sugar I can meet you and your friends at 8 o'clock," Lana finally relented.

"That's so not -" Kara started to protest but seemed to change her mind, accepting Lena's condition. Kara gave her a knowing look crossing her arms, and faux smirking. Kara was an odd girl but damn if Lena didn't find everything about her charming. "You are missing out, but if that's what'll take you to come with us then yes, I promise. But we're definitely going on the Ferris Wheel."

Lana opened her mouth to protest but before she could, Kara's phone started ringing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kara mouthed as she answered her phone. Lana could hear an obnoxious male voice barking at the other end of the line. The phrases 'replacement', 'she better be dead' and 'Supergirl convention' jumped out at her.

Kara quickly ended the call, grabbing her bag off the floor. "I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly but my editor needs someone to cover the Supergirl convention downtown cause the reporter who was going to do it broke her leg."

Lena barely had time to stand and nod a goodbye before Kara was opening the door to leave her office. "I'll see you later, okay? I'm going to make sure you have the best time I promise."

Kara lingered for a split second, as if wanting to say something more, but instead her lips curved into a soft smile and suddenly the acrobatic team was back doing somersaults in Lana's stomach.

"Bye," Kara said almost shyly before closing the door.

Lena sat down as the door clicked into place, taking a moment to pull herself together before finally focusing her attention back to her work.

It was less than five minutes later that her phone buzzed and was greeted with a message from Kara. A photo of about a dozen different girls dressed in Supergirl costumes, Kara on the foreground, grinning widely.

There's so many of her!

Lena smiled, staring at her phone transfixed. She didn't care if the actual Supergil was present, all she saw was the absolutely ordinary girl, hair tied in a ponytail, glasses slightly askew, her smile shining with pure joy.

The whole of National City had their eyes on Supergirl but somehow Lena couldn't take her eyes of Kara Danvers.

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 **Follow me on tumblr djchika**


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